The Dallas Mavericks, entering their Tuesday night contest against the Grizzlies, were coming off one of their most impressive victories of the season, taking down the ultra-large Minnesota Timberwolves despite missing the services of Dereck Lively II. These are the kinds of victories that empower the team and take them to new heights. Alas, all the Mavericks did against the Grizzlies was crash and burn.

Despite facing a Memphis team that was without Ja Morant, who recently underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who's dealing with a knee contusion, the Mavs came out lifeless instead of establishing themselves as the superior, more dominant team — especially when the game was at home. Due to a lackluster first half, the Mavericks fell down by a margin that they couldn't quite recover from en route to a 120-103 loss.

There were plenty of reasons for the Mavericks' slow start; their defense was subpar and they weren't quite on point offensively to compensate. But their biggest problem against the Grizzlies was from a mental standpoint; they were unable to muster the requisite focus, with Kyrie Irving even saying that they may have underestimated their shorthanded opponent.

“Playing [the] number one team in West [in the Timberwolves], then playing [the Grizzlies], no disrespect to who they are, but we took our foot off gas pedal. They hit us in the mouth in first quarter with 29 pts and 39 in 2nd. Was pretty much the game right there,” Irving said after the Mavericks' defeat, per Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com.

These are the kinds of losses that would leave a sour taste in the entire team's mouth, as the Mavericks simply cannot be letting these games slip from them with how tight the Western Conference playoff picture is. For Kyrie Irving, he said in the past that he embraces his role as one of the team's leaders — he needs to do a much better job setting the tone and helping his team prepare and give their best, no matter the opponent.

Next up for the Mavericks is a matchup against the New York Knicks, a team that has gone unbeaten since trading for OG Anunoby.